Beers

Three Floyds Gumballhead
Left Hand 400 Pound Monkey
Left Hand Polestar Pilsner
Two Brothers Domain Dupage
Two Brothers Prairie Path
Two Brothers Resistance IPA
Two Brothers The Bitter End
Two Brothers Cane and Ebel
Bells Two Hearted IPA
Bells Oberon Ale
Bells Amber Ale
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Lagunitas Dogtown Pale Ale
Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale
Lagunitas Brown Shugga
Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout
Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
Lagunitas IPA
Lagunitas Pils
Lagunitas Maximus
Great Lakes Dortmunder
Magic Hat #9 Not Quite Pale Ale
Breckenridge Lucky U IPA
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Breckenridge Agave Wheat
Barley Island Sheet Metal Blonde
Big Sky IPA
Big Sky Trout Slayer Ale
Big Sky Moose Drool Brown Ale
Victory Hop Devil
Victory Hop Wallop
Victory Old Horizontal
Victory Prima Pils
Ska Modus Hoperandi IPA
Smuttynose IPA
Brooklyn Monster Ale
Southern Tier 2XIPA
Horny Goat Hopped Up n Horny
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Newcastle Brown Ale
New Belgium Fat Tire
New Belgium 2 Below Winter Ale
Stone IPA
Stone Ruination IPA
Stone Smoker Porter
Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale
Goose Island IPA
Goose Island Honkers Als
Goose Island Oktoberfest

MORE BBQ AND NEW BEER OF THE WEEK!

Q's BBQ - I heard good things about Q's from a few different people recently and decided to go check it out. Q's is located in downtown Lagrange on Lagrange rd. Q's is very similar to Smoque BBQ, which I reviewed in my last post. I went with the Texas brisket, Carolina pulled pork, mac and cheese, cornbread, and hush puppies. The brisket was very tender, I picked it up at one end and it literally broke in half. The pulled pork was good, a little dry, but not bad. Mac and cheese could have been a little more cheesy, but the crumble cracker topping was great. It might have been crumbled goldfish crackers. Cornbread and hush puppies were nothing special. One plus was they had 4 different BBQ sauces at your table. Sweet, Spicy, Vinegar based, and mustard based. Spicy was my favorite and the mustard was good with the hush puppies. Overall Q's was excellent, not quite as tasty as Smoque, but a better value. I would defiantly go back.

BEER OF THE WEEK
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter - This porter has a nutty, chocolate taste with a vanilla finish. This beer is made with real vannila beans from Papau New Guinea and Madagascar. It pours a dark brown chestnut color, almost black. Brewed in Breckenridge, Colorado.

First Weekly Post!

Hey everyone,
The Menu Master is back! I decided I'm going to change this blog up a bit. I will do one post a week, probably Wednesday nights and recap the best things I ate during the past week. Since I haven't posted in a while I will review the best things I ate in the past few months.

Smoque BBQ - The best thing I ate in the past few months would have to be the Brisket @ Smoque BBQ. Smoque is off I90 on Pulaski and was featured on a recent episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives so I decided to go check it out. Everything I ordered was excellent. I ordered a brisket dinner with mac and cheese and cornbread. Then for $3 you can add a taste of another meat. I went with the Texas smoked sausage. Both the sausage and the brisket were phenomenal. The brisket is smoked for over 15 hours. The mac and cheese was honestly the best Ive ever had. The cornbread was perfect too. I had a bite of the ribs and pulled pork. Both were just as good as the brisket and the sausage. Please, please go check this place out!


Jack Straws - Another great find was a place called Jack Straws located on Naperville Rd. in Wheaton. Jack Straws is mostly known for their pizza, but also have a collection of different cheese steaks and what they call Manburgers. I decided to go with The Bronson Manburger. The Bronson is two 1/4 pound hamburger patties, American cheese, gyro meat, tzatsiki sauce, bacon, tomatoes, onions, and lettuce. The first bite was incredible, you get so many different flavors in your mouth. The only negative thing I can say about this burger is that when you get to the last few bites, it gets unappetizing because your so full. Then, just when I thought the meal couldn't get any better, I get my favorite kind of fries, fresh cut and greasy, with a cheese sauce that Ive never come across before, merks cheese sauce. It was so sharp and creamy. I would go back just for this cheese sauce, but I will defiantly be returning anyway to try out some of the cheese steaks so stay tuned!

Anyways Baja Fish Tacos - Check out the summer specials menu at Anyways and order the Baja Fish Tacos. You get two beer battered haddock tacos topped with fresh chipotle cabbage slaw, tomatoes, and lime chipotle aioli. This mix of ingredients makes for a great fish taco. I'm not usually a cole slaw fan, but the chipotle slaw was fantastic. Anyways now has two locations, one in Oak Brook Terrace on Roosevelt Rd, the other in Bloomingdale on Army Trail Rd.

Adobo Grill - Ancho Chili BBQ Burrito

BBQ Burrito!

One of the few perks of working in retail is that other businesses like to bring you free stuff to let you know they are new to the area. As I mentioned in a previous blog (Adobo Grill - Pulled Pork Quesadillas) Adobo grill has put a new location in Wheaton. The manager brought over some free entree coupons just to let us know they are there. I have always said, the best food is free food. Since I tried a quesadilla last time, I decided to try one of their signature burritos. I went with the Ancho Chili BBQ Burrito. Now you can order this many different ways. I ordered it with grilled chicken,rice, pinto beans, hot habanero salsa, cheese, and sour cream. With this burrito you get the ancho chili BBQ sauce also. Its a very large burrito. The BBQ sauce is interesting, it defiantly isn't your average BBQ sauce. It isn't thin, but it isn't too thick either. It has a bit of a smokey taste to it. I enjoyed it. The salsa was not near hot enough though. If you have habanero salsa, I would expect something a little hotter. Overall though, It was pretty good. Not amazing, but it was something different. Normally the burrito was $6.95. $6 - $7 seems to be the standard price for an item there. I will base my score off that price, not the free price.

Menu Master Rating
Item Reviewed - Ancho Chili BBQ Burrito
Taste - 7.7 (sauce was interesting, salsa could have been a lot hotter)
Value - 6.8 (you wont leave hungry, a bit more expensive than chipotle)
Total - 7.25

Anyways - Carolina Nachos

Pulled Pork On Nachos, Genius!

I went to my favorite restaurant on Friday, Anyways. Anyways now has two locations, one in Oak Brook Terrace on Roosevelt Rd and one in Bloomingdale on Army Trail Rd. I ordered the Carolina Nachos. The Carolina Nachos is a special item that is not on the main menu. If you don't see it, just ask one of the fine Anyways employees if you can order it. The Carolina Nachos have all the usual ingredients, but instead of chicken, ground beef, or steak, it has BBQ pulled pork! Anyways has great pulled pork and great BBQ sauce. The nachos are tri-colored for an American look I guess. You get plenty of all the different ingreiants. Some places like to skimp on the sour cream and quac. I don't know why more places don't have this on their menu already because its so good. Ever since this appetizer was created last year, I have probably ordered it 6 or 7 times. The Carolina Nachos are $6.99. Try it now!

Menu Master Rating
Item Reviewed - Anyways Carolina Nachos
Taste - 9.2 (a great creation, pork and BBQ are excellent)
Value - 9.0 (a great price for a mound of food)
Total - 9.1

Cheddars - New Orleans Pasta

Sausage, Chicken, and Shrimp in one dish!


A few Fridays ago I was headed to a friends house after a long day at work and I decided I was going to treat myself to a good meal. I stopped at Cheddars in Bolingbrook and ordered the New Orleans Pasta to go. This pasta dish consisted of penne pasta in a creamy cajun sauce with cajun spiced chicken, sausage, and shrimp. Onions and green peppers were also scattered throughout the pasta. It also included a piece of garlic bread. The pasta first off had a good flavor to it. It could have used a little more of the cajun sauce as a few of the noodles were bare. The pieces of onion were way to big in my opinion. The chicken was my favorite meat in the dish. The problem was I could only find two pieces. There wasn't too much sausage either, three small pieces. However there were about 8 pieces of shrimp, which seemed a bit overcooked. I would have liked it if they evened out the meat a little. Garlic Bread was a little soggy, possibly because it was in a take out box for a 1/2 hour. Over all I defiantly enjoyed it, there sure was enough of it, but I wish the chicken:sausage:shrimp ratios were better. The New Orleans Pasta was $9.99, a good price for a sit down restaurant pasta dish.

Menu Master Rating
Item Reviewed - Cheddars New Orleans Pasta
Taste - 6.5 (had several things wrong with it, but still enjoyed it, has potential if corrected)
Value - 7.3 (good quantity, good price)
Total - 6.9

Taco Bell - Chicken Burrito

My Favorite Value Menu Item!


Ever since the Taco Bell Chicken Burrito was created and put on their value menu last year, it has become my favorite value meal item. For only .99 (some Taco Bells its $1.29) you get a small burrito packed with grilled chicken, seasoned rice, avocado ranch sauce, and cheddar cheese. The chicken tastes a little like rubber, but what do expect for something under a buck. Yes, its the smallest burrito Ive ever seen, but it fills your stomach up. When I do order it, I usually order two or get it with a chicken quesadilla and it is more than enough to fill me up. If you haven't tried it, do it now!

Menu Master Rating
Item Reviewed - Taco Bell Chicken Burrito
Taste - 7.5 (chicken is a little rubbery, all ingredients work together nicely)
Value - 9.5 (very filling, under $1)
Total - 8.5